that’s basically the same thing that I said in my 12:18 pm post. except you interchanged Northwestern and Nebraska.
I got Nebraska in the North division because they seem to but more geographical orientated with Iowa and Minnesota than Northwestern. And Northwestern is close to Ill, Ind, and Purdue.
and yes, Chicago is a little further North than Lincoln.
Yeah, sorry about that. I totally blanked.
But I’d still try to separate Northwestern from Illinois, Indiana, and Purdue.
It still makes the most sense to have OSU, Michigan, Penn State in the same division. Yes it will be a tough division. But it preserves rivalries and doesn’t penalize the non-revenue sports with huge travel costs. Plus I just don’t believe that OSU and Penn St. will just run away in the championship game every year. I’ll reserve judgment on Michigan until that shithead Rodriguez demonstrate that he can get his act together.
If you add a glut of eastern teams (Pitt, Rutgers, Maryland) then you have to look at splitting up the Big Three. But right now, we have no idea where else the Big Ten will go.
Speaking of confusing, Wisconsin/Nebraska football games are going to be like watching a Spring game…their uniforms are very similar. Wisconsin’s coach Bielema tweeted about setting up a trophy game between NU and UW…call it the Big Red Trophy, winner is allowed to keep the chant “Go Big Red” for the next year.
A big ole Texas Sized:
PSYCHE
The ESPN scroll says Texas is staying in the Big 12, as is A/M.
I have feeling this ain’t over though.
So, Texas is content to live in a 10 team, single division conference. Wonder if anyone has asked Jerry Jones’ opinion about the Big 12-2 championship games he just got screwed out of. I have a feeling TCU & Houston should not turn off their cell phones.
Hehe that leaves the PAC 11 without a conference title game or a marquee draw for 2 years. The ball is squarely in their court to panic now. And the big 12 with no title game.
Utah might actually have a bit a hand right now.
Utah to the Pac-10, I think. And where will the other two Big 12 teams come from (I assume they willwannt two more to get a champoionship game again). Maybe TCU and…ummm…Tulsa…Houston. I mean if they added TCU and Houston they could start a Texas division with Texas, A&M Texh Baylor TCU and Houston. Then they could have a Not Texas Division with OK, OK st, Mizzou, Iowa St, Kansas, and K st.
I still think the Big XII is a house of cards. But if they can shore up their foundation, they will should pick up TCU as team #11. Then its a tossup, between Houston, Tulsa, and even Memphis (and their 10 Million annuity from Fedex). Even Rice as a chance.
I guess it’s official that Texas will remain in the Big 12.
I suppose that means the Pac 10 gambit failed.
Yeah, mainly because the Big XII (Big X?) is only one defection away from trouble. And there’s still nothing from stopping the Big Ten coming over to Kansas or Missouri with a big suitcase of cash, if their commish is in the mood. "You like cash, right? You don’t want to be in “Texas and Oklahoma and the eight dwarfs”, right?
I agree with notfrommensa and Duke. Texas A&M probably isn’t quite finished flirting with the SEC yet, the Big 12 North schools could still be raided, and I have the feeling the only way Dan Beebe can make his revenue projections for Texas work is if he simply hands over all the conference TV rights to Texas.
Another vote for this ain’t over yet. PAC11 is going to pick up somebody else. Utah seems like a good fit for the conference, and would give them a championship game. The shellacking they put on Bama in the Sugar Bowl two years ago gives them national credibility, to some extent. They’re not Texas or Oklahoma, but they’re still a major program.
I would love it if the Big Twelve stayed at ten teams, and the Big Ten stayed at twelve. Just for the irony factor.
The Pac could also go after Kansas. It’d make things interesting in basketball anyway, having both KU and UCLA in the same conference.
True, but why would the Big Ten want Kansas? What does Kansas offer them? Any big new TV markets? Nope.
Missouri, of course, is a different story.
The opportunity to be perhaps the best basketball conference in the country?
Perhaps and basketball aren’t enough.
The Texas move is interesting because at least for now it stops the whole domino theory of conference realignment. Without the Pac-10 expanding to 16, the Big 12 doesn’t fall apart, so the remaining teams don’t go to the Mountain West or wherever else, and there’s not much reason for Notre Dame to go to the Big Ten or anywhere else to avoid being left out. So in a way that’s a little anticlimatic considering the scenarios some people had cooked up. But things could change and everybody could still expand. ANd for at least one year, it looks like the Big Ten will have 12 teams and the Big 12 will have 10. GOE COLLEDGE!
Why is basketball not enough? It works for the Big East.
And the Big 10 network has to find relevant programming after the football season is over. Maybe it could come from… (gasp)… basketball?